


Revolution

by TesseractTown



Series: Retribution [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, M/M, a lot of stuff happens-
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23479312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TesseractTown/pseuds/TesseractTown
Summary: Salem retreats with Kyra and everything seems to fall through the cracks. A person they thought they could trust is gone, and another one is missing. Ironwood is dead and Winter is the new General. Where will they go from here?
Series: Retribution [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1684606
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had the urge to write last night, so I basically wrote two chapters? I really wish I could've made this one longer but you know.

_“Caiden? Caiden? Where are you going?” I yell as I run after Caiden._

_Caiden quickly turns a corner and turns around and smirks as they walk into the building. When I step into the building I am all of a sudden on a rooftop, the wind blowing in my face as I look up to see Caiden. I sigh in relief as I run up to Caiden._

_I wrap my arms around Caiden when I hear a gunshot go off somewhere in the distance. All of a sudden I feel Caiden go limp in my arms. Caiden falls out of my arms onto the roof of the skyscraper and looks back up at me, the light quickly leaving their eyes. I drop to my knees as tears run down my face._

_“Caiden?” Caiden, wake up!_

_I move to put my hands on the gunshot wound when I hear the sound of someone reloading their gun behind me._

_“You will stay where you are.”_

_I quickly put my hands on Caiden’s lower abdomen when I feel something lodge itself into my back. Soon after I hear the gunshot and I fall on top of Caiden._

_“You get to watch your loved ones die before your eyes, and you don’t get to do anything about it.”_

_I take one last breath before my eyes close and I wake up in a desert. I put a hand around to my back to where I got shot, and nothing was there._

_I look around and see Ray running towards me. She grabs my arm and I start running beside her. I look behind us to see a swarm of bees and other insects chasing us. My eyes widen as I start panicking when Ray trips over a rock that magically appeared.  
“Come on Ray! We have to go!” I say while tugging on her arm. Ray just smiles up at me._

_“I’m too tired.”_

_I let go of Ray’s arm and look behind me to see Flame standing there, gun in hand, looking at us. I look back to the swarm of insects getting close and I start to feel light-headed. I look down at Ray then back to the insects as my chest tightens. I’m not leaving Ray, I’m not leaving Ray, I swear I’m not going to run._

_I drop down to my knees and squeeze my eyes shut as I cover my ears. I hear two gunshots and when I open my eyes I’m sitting on a boat with Clover._

_I look over the edge of the boat to see a bunch of fish swimming around and I smile, I look back up to see Clover hand me a fishing rod, I take the fishing rod and just before I can cast my line, I drop the fishing rod into the water. I lean in, trying to catch it, which throws me overboard._

_Clover catches me by my arm and he falls overboard too. I grab onto the boat’s edge right when a wave hits and Clover gets thrown underwater. I go swimming out over to him, but I can’t seem to move. I scream at him and when I can finally rip my hand away I swim underwater and over to where Clover was._

_When I get there, I see him pounding at the surface and I look up to see it has all of a sudden iced over. I see Clover start to inhale the water and I rush over to him as he slowly suffocates. I look up at the top and start panicking. I can’t get up. I can’t breathe. I’m going to drown, I’m going to suffocate. I look over to Clover to see him floating there and I swim to the top and start screaming and crying till I as well feel the burning in my lungs._

_The scenery changes the forest, my home. I look around and see Caiden once again standing there and Flame hands me a gun, “If you can’t beat us, join us.”  
I look to Caiden looking in awe at the trees and I feel the barrel of a gun on my back._

_“Shoot them.”_

_I shake my head and I feel pain surge through me and I fall to the ground when all of a sudden I’m standing up again._

_“Wrong answer, try again.”_

_“No,” I feel the pain come over me again and I fall down to the ground. I hear a second gunshot ring out and Caiden falls to the ground as well._

_“Wrong answer, Kyra.”_

My eyes snap open and I see Flame standing in front of me. My eyes dart around and I exhale in relief, none of that was real. None of it was real, Caiden’s fine, Ray’s fine, Clover’s fine. No one died, I didn’t die.

Well, everything’s not fine. But nightmares are better than reality. But are they? What is happening now is a nightmare in itself.

I look around and see Tyrian walking off the Whale Grimm along with Salem. Flame hauls me up off the ground and starts walking me off the Whale when we stop by Salem.

“What would you like for me to do with her, my Grace?” Flame asks.

Salem looks down at both of us. “Take her to the jail.”

Ah, the jail. This sounds miserable.

Flame nods to Salem as we walk off the Grimm and into the palace, or at least it looks like a palace. Flame pushes open the doors and I scan the room, it seems to be a hallway, with multiple people in it. If I’ve heard right, the one with green hair is Emerald, the one with silver hair is Mercury, and the uh, well, the huge guy is Hazel. Let’s avoid him at all costs, he could beat me into pulp and I don’t want that.

They all look at me when Emerald says, “Another prisoner?”

Flame gives Emerald a look, and Emerald decides to back off. As we walk towards what I presume is the jail, I map the way in my head.

Once we get to the jail, Flame unlocks a door and opens it and says, “Play nice you two.”

You... two? It’s extremely dark in here, though, I’m used to the dark because of my semblance. I look to the closed door and walk to the other end of this seemingly big cell, I lean against the wall and slide down it till I’m sitting on the floor when I hear a voice.

“You’re not a Grimm.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I glance around the corner to see the empty streets of Mantle. I make a hand motion and we all run down the street till I get to a house, my house. I throw the door open and everyone runs in. I shut and lock the door behind me.

I see my mom walk out into the living room, a gun in her hand. I step forward and wave.

“You’re not in Atlas?”

My mom smiles and hugs me, “You’re safe, and yes, I didn’t want to go up there, I had a feeling I would have you show up at my door.”

I crack a smile for the first time since Kyra’s disappearance and my mom looks behind me and scans the room and frowns, “Where is Flame and Kyra?”

My breath hitches in my throat when Ray steps forward and puts a hand on my shoulder, “Kyra was, well, kidnapped? Flame was a double-agent we are being led to believe.”

My mom’s face shifted from relief to horror. “Kidnapped? By who?”

Sandra steps forward. “Salem. It’s a really long story. Also, you should be informed that you are housing fugitives right now.”

I hear Clover’s voice from behind us, “Hopefully you do not mind us staying here till we decide where to go Ms. Glas.”

My mom smiles. “No worries, any friend of Caiden’s is a friend of mine. You all are free to stay as long as you want, but I expect an explanation of what is going on.”

I look back to everyone and they nod, I turn back to my mom.

“Sure thing, could we hold off till tomorrow? I think we all could use some rest.”

“Of course, let me go get the extra blankets in pillows,” my mom says as she starts heading upstairs.

“SLUMBER PARTY!” Nora screams as she throws her hand in the air.

Ruby rushes over to stand by Nora, “Yeah!”

I laugh and go to sit on the couch and look down at my lap when Sandra walks over to me, “What should we do?”

“OOOH!! We could play Cards Against Humanity!” Nora suggests.

“Kyra has the deck,” Ray says.

Qrow walks over and sits down in a chair, “Good, the deck is gone….. Wait. Shit.”

I look over to Qrow, “What?”

“Kyra has the deck, anyone but Kyra!”

Clover walks behind Qrow and rolls his eyes. “I’m sure she won’t do anything with the deck, Qrow. She has more important things to worry about, as do we.”

That’s right, we have to go get Kyra back…

“We should focus on next steps after we all get a good night’s sleep,” Ruby says.

“But Kyra is missing!” I say.

Ray sighs. “We can’t do anything tonight, Caiden. I agree with Ruby.”

I sigh as my mom dumps a bunch of blankets and pillows on the floor and Nora runs and grabs a pillow and starts throwing them around the room, hitting multiple people.

As one hits Weiss in the face, she grabs the pillow and throws it back at Nora. From here it becomes apparent that a pillow fight is about to happen. 

I run into the kitchen with a pillow in my hand and duck behind the island. I look up and see Ray duck behind the island with me, and Sandra follows soon after. I peek my head up and duck instantly after I see Team RWBY through a pillow in our direction.

I stand up and throw the pillow at our attacker and it hits Clover in the face. He turns around and I duck again, grabbing the pillow that he previously threw at us. I look to Ray and Sandra and we all stand up and run out towards Team JNOR and start hitting them all with pillows, and they start hitting us back.

This is a mess.

I see Team RWBY line up to throw pillows at us and I yell, “RETREAT!”

We dash back to the kitchen just in time for Team JNOR to get pelted in pillows. I smile and we also throw our pillows at Team JNOR. 

Now the only teams who have Pillows are Team QC and Team JNOR.

I hear Nora start to laugh loudly as they gather their pillows when Ray yells, “ABORT!”

I stand up and we make a mad dash for the stairs. We run up the stairs and I grab a doorframe and swing myself around it. Ray and Sandra follow and I slam the door shut. I look around my room and point to the dresser. Ray and Sandra start to push the dresser until it is in front of the door.

We hear feet running upstairs and I look around my room till my eyes land on my closet, specifically the boxes on top.

I look to Ray and Sandra and point to the top of my closet. Ray nods and runs over there. I then let Ray hop on my shoulders and stood up so she could climb up there. Same with Sandra. From outside the door, I hear, “Clover!! They’re in here!! We need your muscles!!”

I look up and jump and my hands cling to the edge. Sandra and Ray pull me up there and I look to the boxes.

“Get in a box!” I say as I open a box and climb in it. Sandra and Ray do the same just as I hear the door fly open.

“WHERE ARE THEY?!” Nora screams.

We hear footsteps walking around the room when Ruby says, “Did they jump out the window?”

Blake’s voice is next. “They aren’t birds, Ruby.”

I hear Clover’s voice right in front of the closet. “Maybe they tricked us?”

Yes, yes, believe that. Go away.

“What is all this commotion?” My mom says I can imagine her standing in front of the door with her arms crossed.

“Uh, well, you see Ma’am. We are just trying to find Caiden!” Weiss says.

My mom snorts. “Good luck with that, didn’t you say you were tired?”

“YEAH BUT NOT EVEN THAT CAN STOP A PILLOW FIGHT!” Nora screams.

I hear my mom sigh. “Bed.”

I hear everyone file out of the room and we all climb out of the boxes and jump down from the closet. You heard her, time for bed.

I wake up to a knock on the door the next morning and I walk down to see everyone is up. Ray and Sandra follow behind me and Ruby opens the door.

“Hello?”

I see Winter Schnee, of all the people it could possibly be, standing there. At least she’s alone.

Clover stands there awkwardly and waves. “Hey… Fancy meeting you here.”

“What do you want,” Ruby says, “And you better not try to arrest us. There’s more of us than there is of you.”

“That really isn’t the best way to…” Winter sighs. “At this time, I have no intention of arresting you. May we please come in?”

Ruby steps aside. Winter walks into the house, Ruby shuts the door behind her, and Winter gets straight to the point. “All of you are pardoned.”

“What about Kyra?” I ask.

Winter sighs. “Ironwood is dead. All we know is Flame and Kyra went down there, we have no clue what happened. Till we know what happened, Kyra is still a criminal of Atlas.”

“But Flame works with Salem-”

“We know. But we cannot be certain Kyra isn’t with them,” Winter says before looking to Clover. “You can return and rejoin the Ace Ops led by Harriet, or I can honorably discharge you for services to the Kingdom of Atlas.”

Winter glances towards Qrow and back to Clover.

“I’ll have to… think about it,” Clover says as he looks down.

Qrow puts a hand on Clover’s shoulder and I smile at the two and pull out my scroll to take a picture. Kyra would love to see this. I go to my messages to send a picture and that’s when I remember she won’t get it. I sigh and put my scroll away as I look at Winter.

“Do you just not give a fuck?” I say.

“What?” Winter says frowning in my direction.

“Do you just not care that Kyra is gone?”

Winter sighs, “Mx. Glas…”

“Kyra is gone, Salem has kidnapped her, and who knows what will happen to her? None of us are safe anymore? It’s a miracle Atlas is even here. The lamp is gone. Kyra is gone. Ironwood is dead. Who knows how many people died. None of us are safe, especially with Salem having Kyra. I can only assume Salem is interested in her because of her semblance, and she can watch any of us. Kyra could _die_.”

Wisteria puts her arm on my shoulder. “It’ll be alright, Caiden. We’ll get her back.”

“But what if we don’t?”

“Not with you thinking like that. And the Kyra I’ve seen wouldn’t give up.”

I hear Ruby say something to Winter, but not what it is. Winter nods respectfully leaves the house, and as soon as she does everyone looks at me. 

Ruby says, “So, where do we go from here?”


	2. 2

My eyes flicker over in the direction of the voice as I put my head to my knees.

“Yeah, I’m not a Grimm,” I grumble out. I hear a shuffling noise and all of a sudden I feel someone touch my shoulder, I don’t look up.

“I don’t know who you are, why you are here, or what happened to you, but I do know you are struggling. You might not know me or trust me, but I’m here for you, we are in this together.”

Tears start rolling down my face. “Thank you, I really needed to hear that.”

Everything I have been working towards, what has it been for? I left everyone, I left them. What do they think of me? They probably think I abandoned them, that I was working for Salem all along when in reality I’m in this damn jail cell all alone again. Maybe, maybe if I didn’t decide to work with someone else again, this would have never happened. If I never set out on this impossible journey to save the world this would have never happened. But who am I doing this for? Myself or for the people I care about? The people I care about or the bigger picture? No matter what I chose, people were going to die.

Salem… she said she had been watching me. She had been watching me, I fucking delivered myself to her on a silver platter! She doesn’t need me, all I do is make everything easier for her, all I am to her, to anyone I work with is a tool. I don’t know why I told everyone my semblance right away, I never do that. My semblance is useless in combat, but it is the best spy semblance out there, so if people knew about it, this would just happen. It hasve happened, over and over again. Why do I still even try?

And no matter what my mind always rests on this, I’m doing what I think is right. I know I can’t do it alone, one singular person isn’t that strong. I can’t fight Salem alone, no one can. People are going to die, that’s a fact, no one can prevent it, a war means casualties.

But now I’m here, Salem is going to want to use me. That will lead to more deaths, and something I don’t want to work with, for a cause that I don’t believe is right. What can I do? Am I just a pawn in this game? Can I do anything?

I.. miss Caiden, I miss everyone. I never realized how much I needed people until I met them. How are they doing? Are they well? I can’t protect them, what if they need me and I’m not there?

The voice speaks softly again, “Something happened, didn’t it?”

“Everything is just a mess.” I respond back, “I don’t know who I can trust, my friends probably think I’m working for Salem, I’m going to become a tool for her.”

The person wraps their arms around me for only a moment and I relax a bit.

“Why would they think that?”

I sigh, “I was kidnapped, and I was alone, they probably don’t even know if I’m alive.”

“They wouldn’t give up on you so easily, you are jumping to conclusions that you have no proof for, it’ll work out.”

“I’m going to get them killed, every. Single. One of them.”

“How can you say that?”

I don’t respond for a moment. This person, they are going to figure out why I’m here pretty quickly. This is the only person here, or at least that I have contact with, that isn’t on Salem’s side as I can view it. Do I really want to say anything? I might as well get it over with.  
“My semblance is a spy semblance. If I have seen someone before, I well, I can use my semblance to go to where they are and view them.”

“So, why don’t you see what they are doing?”

“I don’t want to see what they are thinking of me.”

I feel a hand rest on my shoulder again, “I think that it would help. I would really like to know that all the people that I had were okay. I don’t know how they are doing. You have the ability to make sure they are okay, even if you can’t interact with them. I would give anything to see that the people I cared about were alright.”

I nod slowly and tap into my semblance. I look around to see a very familiar environment, Caiden’s house. Where everything started. I look around and then my eyes lock onto Caiden, on the floor, their head on their knees, similar to my position, crying. I look around to see no one else in the room. I bend down and sit in front of Caiden. I reach my hand out and place it just above on their arm. Caiden’s head snaps up as the door opens and they look quickly to their arm and then to the person who just walked into the room.

I look to the ground, feeling helpless. I look to the door to see Wisteria walk into the room. Wisteria must have not realized Caiden was in here, crying as she runs over to her.

Wisteria bends down and hugs Caiden and Caiden hugs Wisteria back, crying into her shoulder. No words were spoken in this delicate silence when Wisteria whispers.

“I never knew Kyra, and I don’t know you very well but I can offer what comfort I can give. From what I’ve gathered, you were close to Kyra, and the Kyra you all talked about would never give up, she wouldn’t just leave you guys. We aren’t going to give up on her, but Kyra would want you to be strong for her. She would want you to continue what she was doing while she was away.”  
Caiden looks up at Wisteria and gives her a weak smile when all of a sudden my world comes shattering apart and I am left-back in the dungeon I am imprisoned in. I hear a gate shut and a roar.

I can’t see. I can’t see, I’m going to die. I squeeze my eyes shut and put my hands over my eyes. I don’t know how much time passes before the same voice speaks again.

“It’s gone, everything is alright.”

“Caiden’s… alive,” I whisper under my breath, tears start rolling down my cheeks again, “I just want all of this to be over.”

I hear the door open again and I hear Tyrian’s voice, “It’s such a disappointment you two get along, a shame really.”

I hear the person next to me get up. “What do you want, Tyrian.”

“Ah, wouldn’t you like to know. I came here to welcome our newest member, give her the introduction she deserves!”

I hear Tyrian start laughing and I stand up. “Leave.”

Tyrian stops laughing for a moment, and I only can assume he is tilting his head in confusion. Even if I wasn’t blind, it would be too dark to see.

“And you think you are in such a position to be giving orders to me?”

I step towards the voice when someone grabs my wrist. I yank my wrist out of the hold and walk forward and stop.

“Fuck off, I’m not in the mood to deal with your bullshit, you psychopath.”

Tyrian laughs again as I feel Tyrian grab my wrist when I hear Flame’s voice.

“Tyrian, don’t torment her too much. She just got here, Her Grace probably wouldn’t be too happy with you if you pushed away our newest ally.”

I feel the hand leave my wrist and soon after a door shutting behind him.

“Please… please don’t,” the person whispers. The whisper carries through the air and my footsteps echo as I pace back and forth.

I walk back to where I think my spot is and I sit back down.

I can’t stay here, I can’t let Salem kill my friends. I can’t let them get hurt because of me. I can’t stay here in this nightmare. I don’t care what it takes, I will, I will protect them. They matter, all of them can change the world. All of them are so much stronger than me, I believe they can do it. I just have to do my part and save them from this jail cell I am locked into. Whatever it takes.

Which in the end means a lot of pain. I need to leave, I can’t stay here forever. I look up and to where I last heard the person speak.

“Hey,” I ask, “do you know how to fight?”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Cheer up!” I hear Ray say from beside me when I reenter the room everyone is in. I smile and wave to everyone before taking a seat on the sofa.

Everyone gathers in the living room, some standing, and some sitting when Ruby stands up in the front.

“I don’t know what we should do, and we only can make our best judgments on what to do. But I think we should stay here in Atlas and Mantle for a while longer to make sure everything is going smoothly. Caiden, where do you think Kyra would go if she got away?”

I pause and think a minute, Kyra has never really mentioned family, but that is still an option, and I doubt she would travel back up to Atlas, that would be a long journey, and a cold one. 

“If I had to take a guess she would go wherever she thinks Salem is going next.”

Ruby nods, “And eventually that is where we will be headed, though none of us will fault you if you head out early while we help things here in Atlas.”

“As much as I hate to say it, that is a huge if. We don’t know if she’ll escape, and where she would go,” Adrian says.

I slowly nod my head and everyone disperses into their own small groups and I walk over to where Ray is.

“Do you know if they are still working on getting Amity Communications Tower up?” I ask.

Ray shakes her head. “But if I had to guess, the answer to your question, is a pretty solid yes.”

I look to the ceiling then back to Ray. “Then we’ll stay here till that goes up, then take an airship out of here.”

Wisteria snorts. “If General Schnee will let us leave.”

Ray punches Wisteria playfully in the shoulder. “She better, otherwise we are going to force our way out!”

I smile and laugh quietly. “I’m suddenly worried about what you would do.”

Ray smiles. “No need. It would work out perfectly!”

Sandra laughs a bit. “I also have reason to doubt that.”

“Traitors!”

“Okay, but shouldn’t we be a bit concerned that Kyra is still a criminal of Atlas?” Wisteria asks.

I smile. “Maybe a bit. But if I had to guess, Kyra has had more than one run in with the police.”

“But this is Atlas,” Wisteria sighs.

“And you are talking about Kyra. The girl who kicked Winter Schnee’s ass and is an infamous info-broker,” Ray smirks.

“And rode a nevermore with no hesitation whatsoever,” I add.

“She did what?” Wisteria exclaims, “That’s amazing!”

Adrian approaches from behind Wisteria. “Please not another one.”

“How about no, Wisteria,” I say with a small chuckle, “I don’t think Kyra would appreciate a student getting herself killed by trying the dumb stunts she pulls.”

Wisteria huffs and crosses her arms. “I wouldn’t get myself killed.”

I walk upstairs to where Wisteria had set Crystal Thorn. I pick it up and flick the switch that Kyra had previously used to have it switch to it’s scythe form. It turns into a scythe. I grab the handle and pull it up.

“Damn this is heavy,” I mutter when Wisteria walks in.

“OOOOOOH! The scythe!!”

I snort and study the switches at the top, trying to figure out what one does which when Wisteria walks over.

“Can I hold it?”

I laugh and hold it out to Wisteria and she wraps her hands around the grips.

“Damn!”

“That is exactly what I said,” I laugh as I take it back from Wisteria and transform it back into its carrying form, “Probably shouldn’t mess with it much, knowing how it usually goes, one of us would break it and Kyra well, we wouldn’t be going out without a scratch.”

“I wish I could have seen her a bit more before she disappeared, she seems like an enjoyable person to be around according to you guys.”

“Oh she was a joy... For better or worse.”

“And I look forward to meeting her properly, anyways.. Want to go for a walk?”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You aren’t too bad yourself,” the person says from across from me as I pop my knuckles.

The person laughs, and I laugh as well, “Having fun in a jail cell wasn’t something I was expecting coming into this.”

“Well, it sure improved your mood, and it’s nice to have someone to practice with that isn’t trying to kill me.”

“You clearly know what you are doing,” I say, “Were you a huntress?”

“Of course, who wouldn’t be in this situation?”

“Fair point,” I say when a dim light turns on outside of the cell and Salem walks in a lavender dress that looks like it comes from ancient times.

I frown towards Salem as she sets a chair down and sits in it, facing the cell.

“Kyra… I think it’s time we had a chat. And you in the back, you can hear this as well.”

“Hear what?” I say, “I don’t want to hear shit from you.”

“A story of ancient times. You know that I am immortal. As long as this world turns, I shall walk its face. Nothing can kill me.”

Salem’s eyes drift towards my cellmate. "So, sit down and listen, I do hope I can change your minds.”


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WRITERS BLOCK HAS BEEN SUCKY OKAY DONT @ ME

“I have been around a very long time already. And in that time I have seen terrible things. You may think me evil, but I have done and *continue* to do this world a great service -- though at first, it was unwitting. 

“I've never been particularly fond of authority figures. Particularly male ones. If I listed off every one who had ever done me wrong we'd be here all night, but we can begin with my father. A cruel and cunning man who cared not for me or for my dead mother's wishes, only himself and his own gain, however I might best be able to serve that purpose. He kept me imprisoned in my own home until age twenty-five, looking for the perfect political arrangement to marry me off for his own benefit. 

“I was broken out by a man named Ozma. I'm sure half of that name sounds very familiar to you. Back then he was righteous and kind, and I have no shame in admitting I fell in love with him. This was a time when magic was everywhere, and still I felt it was the greatest magic of all to have found him. But it didn't last. Ozma died. He was barely older than me. He had survived countless battles, including the harrowing rescue from my father's castle. And then he died, randomly, of sickness. 

“This was a world created by two gods. Everyone knew it. They were proven to exist. They lived among us. As the creators and rulers of our world, they held absolute power, even over life and death. They claimed to respect justice. They claimed to have made a fair world. So how could they let that happen?"

Salem smiles sadly and shakes her head.

"I was but a child then, only twenty-nine years old. But, to quote a wise man of ages past... 

“'What is it that the child has to teach? The child naively believes that everything should be fair and everyone should be honest, that only good should prevail, that everybody should have what they want and there should be no pain or sadness. The child believes the world should be perfect and is outraged to discover it is not. And the child is right.'

“How could the gods let such injustice happen? They lived among us, and so... I went to find out. I climbed the God of Light's mountain and I challenged him. I pointed out the unfairness of Ozma's death, I knew Light had the power to rectify it, and yet, he refused. So I went to his brother, the God of Darkness. He agreed, he brought Ozma back... and the God of Light appeared again and killed him in my arms. And then Darkness bowed to his sibling's will. 

“My request was denied a second time. The gods persisted in their injustice, now unable to even claim ignorance. They chose to let the world be unfair. 

“And what did they do then? Send me home to my sorrow, the same way Light banished me from his domain? No... even denial was not enough for them. They had to add injury to insult. “They wanted to punish me for having dared call them out on their hypocrisy. What kind of a leader does that? What kind of a judge? My case was already closed, and yet for this slight to their ego and pride...

“The gods made me immortal. Specifically, so that I would always be separated from Ozma, from then unto eternity. The two of them decided together that the appropriate thing to do with a grieving woman was to torture her. To inflict a punishment vastly beyond anything the natural world could ever produce. These were the creators of the world! The Brother Gods who designed humanity! No better than my bastard of a father, but infinitely more powerful. Infinitely more prone to abusing that power. 

“Would you want to live in a world ruled by them?”

I open my mouth to respond when she continues and I frown.

“Neither did I. And I knew people would agree with me. It's the natural response for anyone with a functioning sense of fairness, or even just of empathy. 

“So I gathered some like-minded people with me, and returned to challenge the gods again. We told them that if this was how they saw fit to use their power, then they were unfit to rule. Naturally, they took this as an insult to their pride. And you can guess how the gods reacted to that.”

“Probably not well, but you were stupid to think you could beat them,” I respond.

“They killed everyone. On the spot, without trial, without even warning of their final judgment.”

Oh shit.

“And I do mean everyone. Not just those who had spoken against them. Not just those who were present while we spoke out. Not just those harboring the same beliefs, safe in their homes. Everyone. Every last human on the planet, save for me. Because I was immortal. 

“They murdered hundreds of millions of people. Innocent people! All because a few thousand of them had dared to listen to my story and realize that I was right. And then, the God of Darkness said to me... 'You thought there was no more we could do to punish you?'

“That's right. They wiped out the entire world, to punish me. They held such a personal vendetta against this single one of their own creations, that they destroyed their own work just to leave me to wander in an empty world forever. And then they abandoned it and flew off to create more obedient subjects somewhere else. Now, I ask you again: Would you want them back?”

My eyes flicker to the floor and back up to Salem. Of course, I don’t want that to happen, but I assume something more is going on here.

“So... how do we stop them from ever returning? 

“The answer is, of course, exactly what I have been doing this entire time since they left. I have dedicated my eternal life to protecting this new world from the gods. I would appreciate any help toward this goal you would be willing to provide. 

“The key lies in the four Relics. Each immensely powerful in its own right, but their true power is when brought together, all at once. If anyone collects all four... that sends a signal to the Brother Gods, and they return to this world at once. To stop their return, I need only one, to keep here with me far away from the others. 

“The lamp Flame recovered for me is the Relic of Knowledge. So long as I have it in my possession, it cannot be united with the others. In that sense, my eternal mission is finally, after thousands of years, complete. But... I would feel much safer possessing two or three of the Relics, not only one. So I will continue to seek the others, for now. 

“However, I no longer need to cause so much fear and destruction in the world, now that I have this first Relic. That was always the backup plan, the stalling plan, holding out day by day. Threatening the gods' outright wrath, to avoid the gods' more insidious abuse. Even if they judged our world well, who's to say they wouldn't someday wipe it all out once again? They've proven they're willing to do so. 

“So, Kyra... now you know the full version of what Flame tried to explain to you in Atlas. Do you understand now? Do you see the consequences of keeping all the Relics under Ozpin's control? He must not be allowed even the option of uniting them. 

“I don't expect you to make any decisions right now. I understand I've told you quite a lot, and you'll need some time to process this knowledge. I will return later today or tomorrow, and then I hope you will come with me. I hope you will choose freedom, not only for yourself in this moment, but for the entire world's future.”

Salem gets up and grabs her chair and leaves without another word.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wisteria opens the door for me and I walk out as I look around the empty streets of Mantle. This once bustling city is now seemingly dead, everyone is in Atlas… other than us and probably some others.

My mother didn’t want to leave to go up to Atlas, so as simple as it is, she didn’t. It was just out on a whim that we decided to check here, I mean we were fugitives of Atlas.

Wisteria and I walk down the streets of Mantle and I look up at the sky.

“I would ask you to go get coffee… but I doubt there is anything open,” Wisteria says.

I feel a ping on my hip and I pick up my scroll to see a message from Ironwood- I mean Winter, Ironwood is dead and no one has any clue what happened. 

Anyway, what does this bitch want? It’s Winter asking for some of us to come up to Atlas so she can ask something from us. Ugh. Great.

I message back and say that Wisteria and I are coming. I send a message then in the group chat that Wisteria and I are going, nobody else needs to bother.

We catch the next airship up to Atlas, and when we arrive we are instantly surrounded by guards who escort us up to Winter, General Schnee? Eh, still Winter to me.

When we arrive at Ironwoo-I mean Winter’s office, I see the rest of the Ace Ops, minus Clover.

I wave to them and my eyes go and find Winter, who is staring at us, looking for any moves of aggression.

Believe me, I wish I could hit you, but that won’t get us anywhere, will it?

“Welcome,” Winter’s voice echoes in the room, Wisteria now turns to face Winter.

“Hello, Winter,” I say, “You called us up here?”

Winter nodded and walked in front of the desk, “Want the good news, or the bad news?”

Wisteria looks at me then responds, “Good news.”

Winter nods, “We would like your help with rebuilding Mantle till the Communications Tower is up. There are a lot of displaced people, and while it is going to take time, I would appreciate your help with these rebuilding efforts.”

I nod, “I would be up for helping you, but I must consult the rest of the group before I give you a definite yes or no answer, if that is alright of course?”

Winter nods, “And now the bad news.”

Winter pulls up a screen and it is paused in a moment from what looks to Flame, Neo, and Kyra. There is also an Atlas soldier nearby.

Winter unpauses the video and it plays. My eyes train on Kyra, who seems to be in handcuffs. I glance to where the fighting is going on, then back to Kyra who has gotten out of the handcuffs. Even without audio, I can see the fighting spirit coursing through Kyra. I’ve known them for long enough to know this. They are stupid for even thinking they could win this one. But, I think if anyone was in the same situation, they would do the same… Well, maybe not fight head-on. That’s probably just a Kyra thing.

The video continues on with the soldier and Kyra fight when all of a sudden I see blood pouring out of Kyra’s abdomen, which is connected to a sword, which the soldier is holding. 

Winter pauses the video and looks at me. I blink a few times and look to Wisteria who also seems to be in shock. Winter continues.

“We have been reviewing the footage from that night, and we found this, I thought it would be best to show you. After that… well.. We never saw them again. What I’m trying to get at here, is, Kyra could very well be dead.”

I shake my head, “She couldn’t be! We saw her on the whale with Salem! Surely if she was dead... She wouldn’t have been alive then. Right?”

Winter doesn’t say anything then sighs, “I sent out a team to see if we can track Kyra down, if she is alive that is. If she is alive, she very well could still be at Salem’s castle, but, I think we all know if Kyra is truly not on Salem’s side, she would try to get out. If they do not find anything, they will return here.”

I nod slowly when Wisteria looks to Winter, “Thank you. I think we will take our leave now. We will contact you within the next few days with our answer.”

Wisteria then just grabs my hand and leads me out of the room, leaving the video, Winter, and the Ace Ops behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is shorter!! Again.. Writers block


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writers block still hitting me like a absolute battle axe.

The world comes crashing down before my eyes. My ideals, everything I’ve ever known. That feeling, the cold feeling of losing your grip on reality. What is real, what is a lie?

I sit there in silence for what feels like hours. My mind is reeling with possibilities. But my mind comes back to one thing- I’m not a pawn for someone else to play. I’m not going to bow down to anyone, I’m not some possession or some tool. I make my own decisions and will not follow blindly. My life has been built upon mistrust but also trust. And this is not a situation for either of those things. There is no trust established here.

But strangely enough… I believe her. It lines up with what makes sense, but that doesn’t make it right. Honestly, nothing is right. Ozpin, Salem, the relics… the gods, none of them are right. Summoning the gods back, there is no way they could ever be satisfied with humanity, it will never be equal… but Salem wanting to be a god? Not on my watch. The people, it is not in their nature to just bow down to someone who they never even knew existed- well, they didn’t know. Either way, my point still stands.

I feel a touch to my shoulder and my head whips around to look face to face with the person that is in my cell with me- for the first time. Eyes that seemingly glow, to the long hair. 

“What do you think?” She asks.

I nod towards the door, “It’s true, well, I don’t know that, but it lines up with what I have been told. Did she convince me? No,” I smirk, “But don’t tell her that.”

We hear a low growl then a thump. The girl stands up and I raise an eyebrow but back up. The Grimm growls a low growl and comes charging at us. Shit, Shit, Shit. Then, in what seemed like an instant, the room was filled with light. It was blinding, I squeeze my eye shut. But in the moment before I was blinded, the girl stood there. Long black hair. In a corset almost like my own.

I open my eyes again a moment later so see the black powder of the Grimm disappearing.

I squint my eyes in shock, “Was that your semblance?” I look closer to see her eyes are still faintly glowing. Silver eyes. I’ve only seen one person with silver eyes.

The girl laughs a bit, “No, these eyes… are a rare gene. They send out a beam of light that destroys Grimm.”

I pause a moment, “I’ve only met one other person that has silver eyes.”

I swear the girl gasps, “Who?”

I smile thinking back on it, “A girl named Ruby. She was always so chipper and happy. Full of energy.”

Now this time I do hear a gasp, almost a cry of desperation and all of a sudden she is grabbing my shoulders and engulfing me in a hug, “Is she doing alright? How old is she? What is she doing?”

My brain races, “Who are you to her?”

“Her mother.”

Oh shit. I smile softly and wrap my arms around her, “What is your name?”

“Summer, you?”

“My name is Kyra. And oh, I have a lot to tell you, and I expect to hear some about you as well. But about your daughter. She.. from what I could tell was doing alright. From what I gathered she is around 17. She is in Atlas right now. Beacon fell, but before it did, and I guess even now, she is on Team RWBY. From what I’ve gathered Yang is also your daughter? She is on Team RWBY as well. That’s the short version. Granted, I do not know everything, but I’ve heard a lot.”

I feel a sob into my shoulder and I smile, I can’t imagine what it would be like being trapped in here for who knows how long, not even knowing if your own daughters are okay. It would be torture. I sigh, “Let’s sit down, I have a lot to tell you, catch you up on the world the best I can.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wisteria slams open the door and we walk in. I close it behind her while rolling my eyes. Wisteria on a roll is a sight to see. 

Everyone turns to us and Wisteria goes to the counter and hops up onto it and stands up, “LISTEN UP EVERYONE.”

I mentally face-palm, how is this so serious but yet so chaotic at the same time?

“Winter has asked us to assist with rebuilding Mantle until the communications tower is up. I personally think this would be good for us to get more information, have a better relationship with General Schnee, and well, help Atlas.”

Everyone in the room slowly nods when Ruby speaks, “I think that would be a great idea. It’s not like we were planning to leave till the tower was up anyways.”

Wisteria hops down from the counter and her face drops a bit, “Second… Winter showed us a video they found on the security cameras. But basically, Kyra was stabbed by an Atlas soldier in the middle of well… getting kidnapped. Now, we know Kyra was on the whale Salem brought, seemingly alive… but we can’t know for sure.”  
There was little to no movement in the room for a few seconds when Ray spoke, “Well, we only can hope that she somehow lived.”

I sigh, “Let’s sleep on everything we were asked of and learned about tonight, and let Winter know in the morning.”

Everyone nods when I feel a tap on my shoulder and I whiz around to come face to face with Clover, okay, maybe not face to face, I am a decent bit shorter.

“Do you think you could get that video or any videos that have Kyra in it that night?”

I frown, “Why would we need it?”

“We clearly haven’t seen everything. Maybe they could give us a hint to what really happened that night,” Clover says, “And with your semblance…”

I nod, “I could do that.. If and only I could get to a computer that runs the system.”

Clover nods, “I think I might know someone that could help with that.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hear the cell door click open and someone’s footsteps walk into the cell. Summer and I drop our fighting stances towards each other.

“Magnificat spar,” Tyrian says in that usual taunting voice, “But what could our dear prisoners here be training for?”

I squint my eyes in Tyrian’s direction and slowly start stalking in his direction when Summer grabs my arm, “Don’t.”  
Tyrian laughs and I growl, “It’s none of your business.”

Tyrian walks up to us smirking, “And why wouldn’t it be? I am in fact miles above you and your petty friends.”

I growl again and yank my arm away from Summer, “Don’t you dare speak about any of my friends like that.”

“And you can’t stop me.”

“Oh, I can stop you, and I will.”

Tyrian laughs and I hear the mechanical clicking of his tail as it dangles in front of me, “And how do you intend to do that? Last time I remember you fought unarmed, you got stabbed… you wouldn’t be so lucky to live this time.”

Just as I am about to make some retort back at Tyrian I hear Flame call out, “Tyrian! Get back out here!”

Tyrian says as he pulls his tail back, “It seems I must go, but till next time.”

Tyrian retreats slamming the cell door behind him when Summer sighs, “You really don’t want to pick a fight with him..”

I glance towards the door and back at Summer, “Not yet, but I might have a plan.”

Summer frowns then looks towards the door, “Well, I’m open to hearing it.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I laugh and nod to Clover, “Great, we’ll head there in the morning… if we know where they are?”

Clover gives me a thumbs up and walks back towards Qrow and I turn to face Ray, Sandra, and Adrian. I wave towards them.

“Another undercover mission?” Ray asks.

“I thought Kyra was the spy?” Sandra inquires.

“Kyra clearly isn’t here you dumbass,” Adrian states.

I raise an eyebrow at Sandra, “Are you insinuating that I have never done undercover work?”

“What happens if I am?”

“Then you are wrong.”

We all laugh and say our goodnights.

The next morning I get shaken awake and see Wisteria leaning over me. Of course it would be Wisteria leaning over me.

“Time to wake up!”

I rub my eyes as I sit up, “How in the world are we going to get into the security room?”

Wisteria says cheerfully, “We act lost, end up in there, you just have to touch it and we’re golden, then we get the hell out. We’ll also go see Winter while we are there, otherwise it will make no sense for us to even be in the academy.”

I pause and get up, grabbing my clothes from the dresser, “We know our way around, and I assume Winter knows that.”

“You haven’t been here that long,” Wisteria says, “You still could get lost.”

I shrug, “Alright, out.”

Wisteria laughs and walks out of my room, shutting the door behind her. I quickly change, and just as I pull my coat over my shoulders I open the door and run out, going to the kitchen and getting some coffee before walking to the living room again.

I sit down on the couch, “It’s just Wisteria and I'm going today, I already informed Winter to send an airship down for us. We are going to pose that we got lost and found ourselves there, then head up and go to talk to Winter so we are actually there for a reason.”

Wisteria nods and I stand up, coffee in my hand as I head for the door, “We’ll head out now, I’ll send updates to your scrolls.”

I open the door, Virus attached to me back as Wisteria waves to everyone and walks out. We quickly walk to the nearest LZ where we wait.

“What do you think we’ll find,” Wisteria whispers.

“Hopefully enough to where we can draw our own conclusions to what happened, there are no cameras down in the vault, but we can look at faces and just general interactions to see if anything happened.”  
Wisteria nods as the airship lowers, and they climb onto it and sit down and I sigh, “Thank you Wisteria, for helping us. For helping me with this whole Kyra situation. I really want to believe she is okay, I really do. You didn’t have to come with us, help us, get yourself wrapped up into this whole situation, but you did. You have only seen Kyra like one or two times and you are helping me.”

Wisteria smiles, “I can’t hear youuuuuu!” she laughs a bit, “But seriously, it’s nothing. If anything you helped me.”

After a while of waiting, the airship drops both Wisteria and I off at the academy. We run off the ship towards the academy, both trying to reach it before the other.

Wisteria reaches the door before me and slams into them with all the force, I skid to a stop and raise an eyebrow as she detaches herself from the door, rubbing her head.

“Damn that hurt.”

“No shit shamrock,” I say back as I open the doors and we walk in, walking into the elevator and clicking the floor the security room is on.

If we get asked any questions we’ll just say we were trying to find a bathroom or something, no way are we using the stairs after that long run, I’m in shape, but not *that* in shape, you would have to be a monster to do that many stairs all the way to the top.

The elevator beeps and Wisteria and I start walking around, in the direction of the security room, but still looking a bit lost in the process.

I pull out my scroll and check it, sending a message that we made it up here, and are on the way to the security room.

When we arrive right in front of the security room, Wisteria and I hang a left into it. Wisteria bumps into me, and I go flying over to one of the machines, touching it, I instantly send the command to get those videos to my scroll when a guard walks over to us.

“You aren’t allowed to be in here.”

I stand up as I feel me scroll buzz and walk back over to Wisteria.

“Sorry sir, we just got a bit lost looking for the bathroom, do you think you could point us in the correct direction?”

The man frowns down at us, “Walk out of here and continue going forward, there is a sign.”

I nod, “Thank you sir, sorry for disrupting.”

Wisteria and I walk out of the room and continue to head towards the bathroom if we say that we kind of have to keep to the plan. We head into the bathroom and I look to Wisteria.

“I got the videos,” I pull out my phone and swipe the message away, “But let’s not look at them till we are back, this place is crawling in cameras.”

Wisteria nods as we walk out, “Sounds like a plan.”

Let’s just hope we can get something from these videos, that it was worth coming back up to Atlas again. Let’s just hope that no one calls us out on their bullshit of being lost, but they can’t exactly prove we weren’t either. 

Hope is a powerful emotion, hope can spark a rebellion, it can do many things to a person. And this hope- this hope that maybe everything could turn out good, that Kyra is alive, that we can get out of Atlas, that we can stop Salem. It is coursing through our veins, we would find a way, we had to find a way because everyone back at the house, we are the only ones who can stop Salem, put a stop to this madness.

And we will put a stop to it. No matter what.


	5. 5

I pull Summer over to the corner of the cell, and damn I cannot wait to get out of this cell. I swear I’m not germophobic but this is like the most unsanitary thing ever. Okay, maybe not the most unsanitary thing, but still disgusting.

I want to get out of here, get Summer to Tai, get Caiden, and then… you know I’m not sure what is going to happen then. It’s quite obvious that we would still go after Salem, but it’s almost like… how far will we have to go to stop her? What is right and what is wrong?

And I don’t think anyone has the answers, I could go ask everyone and they would either have no answer or all different answers, this is just up to personal judgment. It’s a test of one’s willpower, what one is willing to do.

Let’s just hope they don’t have to do anything extreme, can they do anything extreme? It’s almost one of those situations that you don’t know till you get there.

It’s almost like having to sacrifice some for others to survive like Ironwood was attempting to do. That isn’t acceptable. I don’t want to live in a world like that. I haven’t been exactly a model huntress, but at least I don’t leave people to die. You protect the people who can’t protect themselves, or at least that is what you are supposed to do.

So we will dance around that line, having to sacrifice others for this. Because we don’t want to sacrifice others for a war they don’t even know about, or maybe some do. 

We are fighting a war we can and will win, but we have to protect those who aren’t even involved, who don’t know anything about it.

So when I pulled Summer into this corner, I already knew her answer.

She had been stuck in here for years, she knows how things work around here better than anyone does. She was already fighting this war before we were even born. I know what she wants to get away from here, and eventually, when she is back into shape, help us, help her daughters, help everyone she’s ever cared for.

I look around to the door and back at Summer.

“Tyrian is going to come back here sometime, and you still know how to fight, I still know how to fight, so we’ll take him down and lock him in this damn cell. Serves him right to be locked up. I’ll take his weapons so we have something to protect ourselves with.”

I pause and gauge Summer’s reaction. She doesn’t look surprised, I mean anyone could see this coming from a mile away.

“Then we run, now I don’t really know this castle well, but we have to be quick and well… sneaky? And while I hate saying this, we are going to need something to get on to fly out of here, so I’m just praying that there is something that we can use to get out of here.”

Summer nods, “ I would sure be glad to get out of this place, even though a lot of this seems to be up to chance, but I’ve never had a chance to get out before, so I will take this opportunity. But let it be known, Tyrian is good at fighting, and since we don’t have weapons it’s going to be a lot of dodging till one of us can land a solid hit on him.”

I nod to Summer, “We might as well practice?”

Summer nods and we stand in the middle of the cell with our hands raised up, our fits clenched.

I run forward and swing my fist as Summer sidesteps. I quickly turn around to face her, Summer is already running at me.I put both of my arms up to block it. The fist hits my right arm and I kick my leg out to throw Summer off balance. I back up quickly, still in my defensive position.  
\------

Wisteria and I walk into Winter’s office and Winter spins her chair around to look at us.

“May I ask what changed your mind about coming here today? You seemed pretty… insistent on just messaging me.”

I step forward slightly, “I decided it would be good to tell you in person since I would like to make some things clear before I totally accept your offer.”

Winter makes a gesture to keep talking.

“First, if you find Kyra you are to hear her side of the story before you just decide to throw her in jail and you are to inform us the minute you find her. Second, we will stay till the communication tower is up, then we are off to our next destination, and if we find Kyra before you do, we will let you know her side of the story, because if she is innocent, there is no use in bringing her back here, and before you say she could just lie, that we could lie, she could just as easily lie here.”

Winter sighs and nods, “Since enlisting your help would be immensely helpful, I will accept your proposal. I think for now we are going to have you patrol the wall as we rebuild it, I’ll send coordinates to your scroll later tonight for tomorrow.”

Wisteria nods, “Thanks General Schnee”

Wisteria turns on her heel and walks towards the door, pushing them open and waiting for me to follow, after we are out of the room and in the elevator.

“That went better than expected,” Wisteria mentions. I nod in her direction.

The elevator stops. The doors open at our destination, “That indeed it did, and I’m glad it did otherwise we might be in a jail cell right now.”

When they arrive back home, they step inside and they instantly have everyone’s full attention.

Wisteria grabs my scroll and I groan, walking over to the couch and falling down onto it.

“Everything went smoothly. We are doing border patrol for the wall rebuilding,” I say.

Wisteria hooks up the scroll to the TV, “And more importantly, we got the videos thanks to Caiden’s amazing semblance.”

“Yeah, yeah, close the windows since we technically got these illegally.” I say.

“OH MY GOSH WE ARE CRIMINALS NOW! I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!” Ruby and Wisteria scream at the same time.

Wisteria and Ruby high-five each other and I swear literally every adult in the room sighs. Wisteria goes back to the TV and starts to play the first video where Flame and Kyra are running down the halls to the vault. The next video skips to when they run out of the vault and Flame’s jacket is flipped backwards to show Salem’s symbol. Why did Kyra act so calm? Though based on her facial expression, she wasn’t happy about something and looked hurt.

Oscar speaks up, “I went down there to tell them that the relic was missing.. Though now that I think about it, it looked like something happened. Ironwood wasn’t there, Kyra looked like a mess and Flame… I really didn’t look at.”

I nod, “At least that is a lead on Kyra didn’t know what Flame was doing at least. I don’t really think there is a way to know what happened down there till we hear it.”  
“I know Kyra the best out of all of us here, and she isn’t a cold-blooded killer, yes, Ironwood did do some stuff he shouldn’t have, but I don’t think Kyra would have killed him over it. If anything Flame was a double agent.”

Wisteria scrolls through the videos of Kyra and Flame running till they get to the rooftop. This is the video that Adrian, Wisteria, and I have already seen. But we click play again for good measure.

The thing that just doesn’t add up is Flame turns on Kyra when their enemy was on the ground, that they basically try to kill each other. You wouldn’t do that to an ally, even if you were just pretending. Kyra’s eyes, as blurry as they might be from here, they almost flicker.. Like they are uncertain what to do. Flame also seems to stop Kyra from knocking Neo out, and Neo takes Flame’s hand just before Kyra has gravity bolas around her.

Flame and Kyra aren’t on the same page here, and that is clearly shown, through the actions of both parties, and Kyra looks shocked and upset when she does get... Arrested? Detained?

Then the video plays of Kyra fighting that man bare-handed and borderline winning till Flame interfered, and... Getting stabbed. I get up and take my scroll back from Wisteria and pause it, trying to figure out who the soldier is. You can’t read the name tag from where the camera is.. But it is recognizable, and I bet I could figure out who it was if I really wanted to search. Maybe he can shed some light on the situation Kyra was in, considering there were very few witnesses.

I press play and the rest of the video plays.

Then an idea comes to mind and I look to Clover, but he seems to beat me to it.

“I don’t know who that soldier is, but I’m sure I could figure it out. Then we could go talk to him since other than Oscar, he is the only person that really saw Kyra after they came out of the vault.”

I sigh as I feel a wave of rising anger in me, “I think that would be a good idea, though someone should go with me as he stabbed Kyra.”

Ruby nods, “That would probably be a good idea, just to make sure nothing goes wrong and we have multiple accounts of the story.”

Shady then looks to me, “Sounds like a good spot to start to me.”

Ray nods, “Then it is settled. Clover, see if you can find where this soldier is stationed. Anyone not helping out with that is helping out on border patrol tomorrow. Ruby, will you and your team see if you can figure out where we need to go next after Atlas?”

Ruby nods, “Can do that, because that is actually a good idea.”

I nod, “Then it is settled.”

\-----

I hear the clank of the cell door open and I look to Summer and nod, assuming it is who I think it is. I mean, who else comes in here to taunt us?

“Miss me?”

I roll my eyes as Summer shifts in the shadows, “Barely, I really don’t need you and your loudmouth in my life you know?”

Tyrian walks forward, “And here I feel like you need to shut your mouth before you dive in too deep for escape.”

I cross my arms, “You sure about that bud? Because you know there isn’t a lot of entertainment in this cell here. If you know anything about me you should know I hate being bored.”

“If you would just accept and prove your loyalty to her grace you would be free to leave this cell yours. Allowed to be free.”

“And be a murderer? I really don’t understand how you do it Tyrian, kill all those people with no mercy, and find joy out of all things in it. If you think I can do that you are wrong. You shouldn’t be killing people! Innocent people at that.”

“And you think you aren’t any better? You are an info broker, aren’t you? What do you think people do with the information you give them?”

I snarl, “It’s what I’m good at. If I can simultaneously do huntress work along with making extra lien from selling information I’ll do it. What happens after doesn’t concern me.”

“But don’t you ever think about it? How you are a connection to murder?”

“I don’t know why they come to me or why they want the information. They tell me what they want and I give it to them for a price. What for, I don’t care. It doesn’t concern me.”

“So you admit you are an accessory to murder, you aren’t denying it are you? How does it feel?”

“I am not confirming or denying it because I have no way to know. But this is how a business like this works. I don’t go around on murdering sprees as you do. I don’t kill the innocent and I do not feel good about anything of the sorts.”

Tyrian takes a step closer and I see Summer slowly approaching behind him.

“But you do know that there has been people come to you wanting to murder someone, but you just turn a blind eye to it don’t you?”

“I do what I need to do, and it’s not like I get joy out of it. I do what I am good at, and that is selling information. I’ve learned how to fight because that is what happens when you are at the top, you are hunted. So let the serial killers come to me, at least then I can get on their good side since I am the best at what I do, then I won’t have to deal with them.

“I’ve already dug myself deep into this hole and there is no going back now, who knows, if I went back I might have more people after me than I do now. But don’t you think for a second I take joy in hearing that innocent people died. All I have to do is hope that they don’t need the information to murder an innocent. Plus, who needs to get information on where someone is if they are innocent? The underworld is a cruel place and I’m sure you out of all people know that. The people they need are always in the sketchiest of places.”

“And you call that bringing justice?”

“In fact, I do.”

“And you think these so-called innocent people aren’t bad as well? Because some of these so claimed innocents are bad as well, you just don’t know it.”

“Then they’ll get their justice, no one can say hidden forever,”

Summer stands right behind Tyrian waiting for the signal from Kyra.

“So you kill them.”

“I don’t murder the innocent, and I do not murder if I do not have to. But one thing that you learn when you are in a business like me is to always check behind you.”

Kyra smirks just as Summer decks Tyrian in the back of the head, he stumbles forward and Kyra just kicks him to the side and puts her fists up.

“Let’s have a fair fight now, okay?”


End file.
